New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1887-10-30
pprSrprfyc ORR LOCAL HISTORY.


ID was pleasant to read the announcement
the other day that the thirteen rcc' p'a"'cu
by Alexander Hamilton near One-huhdrou-
and forty third-st. and Tenth-ave as mcmor'a''
of the original thirteen states are 10 DC pre-
served Tho march Of Improvement "hioh 10
building I'D whole city at once on inc "cS'cr"
side of the island. is not to be ahowed U
tramplc them down. Signs OF reverence ior
sucb historical, relics rs we have left are so
rare that they are very pleasing. IL Is 'inc
for those who want to see some record KEEP. VI
tho stirring events that have marked inc MS
tory of this city to consider the means oil doihg
so before it is too late. One by one, inc MS
torjc houses are fast disappearing, ana thoSo
who cover their sites with handsome business
buildpps or brownstonc fronts do not even
take the trouble to mark the spot with llltlc
tablet telling its story In nearly every Guy
in Europe this simple and inexpensive mcthou
of keeping history alive is employed. III icedS
tho civic and patriotic pride OF the people,
and rratifics the laudablc curiosity of strangers
to show in this way where great men were
horn. lived and died. and where important
events have passed. and 1t has the practicai
advantage of costing nothing but the expcndi-
turc Of a little pubic spirit and very ii'tc
money and time The town of Albany has set
this great city an excellent example ny making
its recent bi-ccntcnnal the occasion Tor erect
inc q number of these useful and interesting
memorials. A similar opportunity now awaits
us in the approaching centennial oil inc III
| aucuration of Washington. There could ne
no better time 10 do this than when the attcn-
ton of the entire community VIII necessarily
he drawn to the past and It Will not be wei
| f., delay it much longer. because even tradi-
| t;ons in time crow weak and uncertain.
No New Yorker needs to be told that we have
= history worth preserving. During the Rsvo-
/ lutlonary period, in particular the city was
| such "A bone Of contention between the oppos-
! inc armies that lis annals are crowded with
picturesque and striking incidents, and the
chief difficulty would be in selecting from the
many those facts and occurrences which would
| best deserve commcmoration. INC Washing
ton statue on the ubTrcasury steps preserves
! MIti. It's accompanying inscription inc mem
| ores Of Federal Hall. but not Tar nom
! il thc old Middle Dutch Church. consccfiitcd
! b. the suiIcnngs Of thousands OF imprisoned
! patnots. has made way for a magnificent buSl-
ness building Their memory deserves NJ
least the honor Of a tablet. The Old Fort at
the Battery: the various churches that have
now almost entirely disappeared from the lower
end Of the island; the place Of King George :
statue on the Bowling Green, that was 50
nI,lcly handled BY the indignant coloniSts !;
Kings College; the City Hospital the sites OF
the various houses occupied by Washington
both rs Commandcr-inC Chief and as President :
The place Of the Collect Pond. where Fitch
sailed the first steamboat; McuOWans lass
| m Central Park the sites of the various ioitl-
GcationS on the entire Island-thcSc are lew
scattered points Of interest. Hundreds might
| be suggested # there were space here to do II
| IA.
I'm a heterogeneous city like this, made up
in such a large part Of foreigners. IT would be
! idle to expect u universal knowledge 81 our
| history or interest in it but there Is no com
| munity where the American spirit ~ stronger
| whom il is once aroused. The performance
Of the duty We have indicated cannot. however
he much longer DELAYED " hen the southern
S,cictv an association mainly OF new corners.
| proposcs to present to the Cty mcnorlai oi
| ono Of tho most interesting events IN ltS MS
i,ry il i, time for New Y OrilcrS. born ana Dicd,
! TO ask themselves whether they are not open
TO the charge Of indifference to glorious past